Tire.



E. T. GREENFIELD.

TIRE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9, 1905.

ATTORNEY E. T. GREENFIELD.

TIRE. ZPPLIOATION FILED DEO.9,1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

WITNESSES: dflzunywavzy EDWIN 'r'; GREENFIELTD, or x1AMEsnA,'NEw YORK.

' TIRE- mieoenso.

Specification of Iietters Patent.

Patented Ian. 12, 1909.

ApplicationfiledDecember 9, 1905. Serial No. 291,084.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWiN T. GREEN- FIELD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kiamesha, in the county of Sullivan and State of New, York. have invented cer- .wheels of vehicles and particularly such resilient tires as are commonly employed on the whe ls of automobiles.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improvedl'tire the elastic portion whereof, which is preferably made of rubber .or other suitable flexible material and inflated, fully protected against abrasion and puncture, and this without sacrificing to anymaterial extent the resiliency of the the as a ,whole. v

Another ob, act of the inventionis to provide a tire having an exterior casing so constructed that it presents a surface which will gri the roadway and thus prevent slipping an skidding more effectually than has been the case with the tires heretofore used.

In accordance with my invention, I pro vide a suitable resilient single or double tube, as of rubber or of rubber and a woven fabric, and over this a rotecting casing consisting of a lurality of metallic plates extending artizilly around such tube and each interocking with and movable relatively to the plates adjacent thereto. Preferably the lates of this casing are sustained by metallic ands or rings which engage the plates near the ends thereof and assist in holding them in proper relation. The metallic casing thus constructed forms the entire tread of the tire, there being no spaces between the metallic plates in which the tube is exposed, and therefore furnishes ample protection for the tube against abrasion. The individual plates of the metallic casing are comparatively narrow and as each is movable relatively to the adjacent plates the complete tire is quite as flexible and resilient as is necessary to afford easy running of the vehicle. The interlocking of the plates is effected in such a manner that transverse ridges are provided over the entire tread of the t1re forming gripping walls which serve to revent slipping and skidding.

The resilient tu e ma be of any of the types now commonly .em oyed, either single or double and arran e for inflation with air or not as desired. stead, however, I may use a tube formed from a length of straight flexiports the tire.

ble tubing by joining the ends thereof to the ends of a short section of similar tubing having a valve connection, since a tire made in this manner from lengths of straight tubing is much less expensive.

' I have illustrated preferred embodiments of my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation and Fig. 2 a transverse section of a tire, Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views of two of the interlocking lates, and Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are views simiar to those of Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively showing a slightly modified form of tire.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4, A represents the spokes and B the felly of. the wheel around which is a rim or hoop B whiclisup- In these figures I have shown a double-tube tireofthe clencher type consisting of an inner tubeO and an outer tube or shoe D, the latter having flanges d at its edges which interlock With flanges b on the hook B to hold the tire thereon. A valve E is sealed into the innerlttzbe and extends through the hoop B and folly Bin the v usual manner to permit of inflatin that "tire" Overlying the outer tube D is a i exilileprotective casing F consisting of narrow mten locking metallic plates. As shown in the drawings the plates of this casing are of two types alternating with each other throughout t e length of the casing, Each of the plates G (Fig. 3) of one of these sets, has a body portion 9 tapering slightly at the ends and bent interm'ediatethe ends so that these tapering ends lie substantially parallel to each other. At each side of the body portion is an inturned flange g 9 (Fig. 4) of the other set has a body portion 9 tapered at the ends andbent slmilarly to'the lates G. At the sides of the plates G are anges g", 9 which are turned outwardly. The extent of the taper of the plates G and G is such that when the plates are assembled and the casing applied to the inflated tube, the planes of the sides of the several lates include radii of the circle of the'wheel. he plates are bent to a U shape instead of an arc shape to correspond to the curvature of the tire, so that under normal conditions Each of the platesG' way, I employ a guard-stri or covering H of leather or similar suitab e material over the shot D, its edges being held in any suitable manner as by passingthem under the flanges b on rim B. On the exterior of each of the lates G and G at each end thereof is a lug having an opening therethrough.

The plates G and G are assembled alter-- nately to form the casing F with the inturned flanges at the sides of each late G overlying and interlocking with t outwardly-turned flanges on the sides of the two interlocked and the binding wire I on each side isdrawn taut and its ends secured to gether. The casing may then be applied to the wheel over the. shoe D and cover H thereon while the inner tube'C is deflated and the latter may then be inflated in the usual manner, whereupon the casing will fit closely over the shoe D. The interlock between the plates of the casing is such that each plate may move relatively to the plates adjacent thereto and the metallic casing does not lessen the flexibility and resiliency of the complete tire to any material extent. As the plates of the casing are of metal, preferably malleable iron or. steel, and form the entire tread of the tire, the tubes'C and D are fully protected against abrasion and puncture. It will also be observed that transverse ridges are formed over the tread of the tire which serve to prevent slipping and skidding.

Y In Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8, I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention similar to that 1' shown in Figs. 1 to 4, except that a sin le tube construction is shown instead of doub e. In this case the folly B of the Wheel or a hoop thereon, instead of being substantially flat with flanges at the sides, is curved to con form to the curvature of the tube when inflated, and the tube rests upon this hoop and is confined by its upwardly extending sides. The single tube, indicated at J, may be thickened at its tread if desired but need not be of as great thickness at any part thereof as has been considered necessary heretofore on account of the protection afforded by the casing F. The covering H of leather may also be employed to advantage in this case,

it being held in position by inserting its edges between the tube and the rim of the .wheel. Having now described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows In a tire, the combination of a circular elastic portion, a strip of flexible material overlyingthe same, and a protective casing overlying said strip consisting of a plurality of metallicplates having flanges at their lateral edges serving to interlock each plate with the plates adjacent thereto and permit relative movement of adjacent plates and bands coasting with the ends of the plates, each of said plates extending across sald portion and along the sides thereof and being bent to provide spaces between said portion and the easing into which the former may fill when the tire is depressed, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 7th day of December, 1905.-

. EDWIN T. GREE'N'FIELD. Witnesses: W. S. EDMONDS, I. MoINTosn. 

